Hotel
Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel
An all-suite Belmond hotel in a former palace and convent on Plazoleta Nazarenas, with oxygen-enriched suites, a heated outdoor pool and Pía León's Mauka.
Inkaterra La Casona
An intimate 11-suite hotel in a restored 16th-century manor on Plaza Las Nazarenas, the first Relais & Châteaux hotel in Peru, with fireplaces and heated floors.
At a glance
- Type
- Boutique manor-house hotel
- Area
- San Blas, Cusco, Peru
- Price
- $$$$ · Luxury
- Hotel class
- 5-star
- Official site
- inkaterra.com
Good to know
- 11 suites
- Heated floors
- Fireplaces
- Relais & Châteaux
Why we recommend it
Inkaterra La Casona is one of the most intimate luxury hotels in Cusco, with just 11 suites arranged around the main patio of a 16th-century manor house on the Plaza Las Nazarenas. The site is said to have been a training ground for an elite Inca army, and the house later received notable guests including the conquistador Diego de Almagro and Simón Bolívar, the Liberator. Inkaterra spent five years restoring the building, keeping its original architecture.
In 2010 it became the first Relais & Châteaux hotel in Peru, and Inkaterra describes it as the first five-star boutique hotel in Cusco. It is also recognised as one of National Geographic's Unique Lodges of the World. The scale is the point: with so few suites, the atmosphere is closer to staying in a private house than a hotel.
Each suite has a fireplace, heated floors and an extra-large bathtub, which are welcome on cold Andean nights at around 3,400 metres. The public rooms are furnished with colonial pieces and pre-Columbian textiles, and original murals survive on the walls, so the house feels lived in rather than staged. The Yacu therapy room offers treatments tailored to each guest, and the dining room uses produce from local suppliers.
La Casona suits couples and travellers who value privacy and character over extensive facilities, and for whom a handful of suites around a single patio is more appealing than a large hotel. Sales and reservations can be contacted through the group's published email address.
The location on the Plaza Las Nazarenas is excellent, and the square itself is full of history: the Museo de Arte Precolombino occupies a mansion built over an Inca ceremonial building, and Palacio Nazarenas was once a Jesuit college for aristocratic children. Belmond Hotel Monasterio also stands on the square, and the Plaza de Armas, the Cathedral and the Twelve-Angled Stone, the famous diorite block set in the Inca wall of the Archbishop's Palace, are a few minutes' walk away. The airport is around ten minutes away by car, which makes arrival easy after a flight from Lima, roughly 1,000 kilometres away.
Inkaterra La Casona FAQs
How many suites does Inkaterra La Casona have?
11 suites arranged around the main patio.
Is it a Relais & Châteaux hotel?
Yes, in 2010 it became the first Relais & Châteaux hotel in Peru.
What star rating does it have?
Inkaterra describes it as the first five-star boutique hotel in Cusco.
What is the building's history?
It is a 16th-century manor house, said to have been a training ground for an elite Inca army.
What do the suites include?
Fireplaces, heated floors and extra-large bathtubs.
Where is it?
At Plaza Las Nazarenas 211, a few minutes' walk from the Plaza de Armas.
How far is the airport?
About ten minutes by car.
Is there a spa?
There is the Yacu therapy room, offering bespoke treatments.